Because a tip that the defendant possessed heroin came from a reliable informant who never had provided police with inaccurate information, the officers had probable cause to stop and search for drugs. Background On the morning of March 23, 2016, ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Robert P. Frank Virginia Court of Appeals

Even if a trial court erred in admitting the government’s expert in a DUI trial, there was overwhelming evidence that the defendant drank enough alcohol to be found guilty of driving while intoxicated. Background On Nov. 29, 2015, appellant’s vehicle ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Robert P. Frank Virginia Court of Appeals

Evidence was sufficient to prove that the defendant conspired with his co-defendant to collect a debt through intimidation, including with a firearm. Background Appellant Jahsaad Livingston was tried jointly with his co-defendant, Therin Mason Miller-Jones. For several months in 2015, ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Robert P. Frank Virginia Court of Appeals

The court of appeals could not review the trial court’s fee award because it arose out of the trial court’s unreviewable decision that a party was not in contempt. Background In 2013, the parties entered into a separation agreement, which ...

Tagged with: Civil Procedure Domestic Relations Family Law Judge Robert P. Frank Virginia Court of Appeals

After intentionally running her car into her former boyfriend while he was riding his bike, the defendant was properly convicted of both improper driving and malicious wounding. Background On September 20, 2013, Appellant Kashawna Moore followed Edward Neal, her ex-boyfriend, ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Robert P. Frank Virginia Court of Appeals

The circuit court erred in allowing the Commonwealth to prosecute two different firearms offenses, where Code § 18.2-280(E) required prosecutors to choose one or the other. Background On the night of March 3, 2016, shooting broke out at Club Paradise ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Robert P. Frank Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals upholds termination of a mother’s parental rights to her two children because she failed to remedy substantially the conditions that led to their placement in foster care despite “reasonable and appropriate efforts” to assist her. The ...

Tagged with: Domestic Relations Judge Robert P. Frank Virginia Court of Appeals

At defendant’s trial for possession of a firearm after conviction for a violent felony, the trial court did not err in allowing evidence of defendant’s prior conviction even though defendant had offered to stipulate to his prior conviction of a ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Robert P. Frank Virginia Court of Appeals

The Court of Appeals upholds revocation of defendant’s probation for violations, including violation of a prohibition against communicating with gang members; the trial court did not err in admitting alleged inadmissible hearsay, in the form of a detective reading into ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Robert P. Frank Virginia Court of Appeals

A defendant, charged with the causing the death of his girlfriend’s three-year-old son while she was at work, cannot overturn his convictions with a claim that he left the child in his roommate’s care while he went out; the trial ...

Tagged with: Criminal Judge Robert P. Frank Virginia Court of Appeals